State Defendants in Vergara v. California Claim That They Do Not Believe the Layoff of Effective Teachers Always Harms Students

Witnesses Provide Moving Testimony on Harmful Impact of Ineffective Teachers on Disadvantaged Students and the Teaching Profession

The education equality trial, Vergara v. California, ended its second week with impassioned testimony by two former educators: Kareem Weaver, a former classroom teacher and principal in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), and Jonathan Moss, a former teacher in the Compton Unified School District. Mr. Weaver is the Executive Director of the Bay Area chapter of New Leaders, a national nonprofit organization that designs effective leadership policies and practices for school systems across the country.  Mr. Moss serves as the Parent and Student Coordinator at the Los Angeles Urban League. Plaintiffs’ lead co-counsel, Marcellus A. McRae, conducted the direct examination of Mr. Weaver, while Plaintiffs’ counsel, Enrique A. Monagas, conducted Mr. Moss’ examination. In addition to today’s compelling testimony, a colloquy between the Court and Defendants elicited a surprising statement by Defendants.  After Judge Rolf Treu asked if the parties would stipulate that children are harmed when effective teachers are laid off as a result of the “Last-in, First-out” (LIFO) Statute (as opposed to ineffective teachers being laid off), State Defendants responded: “I think there is a question about whether students were actually harmed…I don’t think it automatically means that if a quote unquote effective teacher was laid off that students were harmed.”

Testimony by Kareem Weaver

Mr. Weaver has a deep, impactful background in education based on his 16 years of teaching and leadership in OUSD. He became principal of Lazear Elementary School in 2010 and drove dramatic student achievement during his tenure. In his first year as principal, Lazear Elementary School accomplished double-digit proficiency gains in math—nearly seven times the district average. Mr. Weaver testified on his personal experience growing up in a low-income area, and how instrumental having an effective teacher was for his own life trajectory.

When asked if minority students need effective teachers more than others, Weaver testified that allkids can learn and “all kids need a good teacher.”  However, he further stated that “education is an opportunity to overcome certain things, for many students especially kids of color…especially kids with low socioeconomic status, education can either prop them up or can blow them down.”

Mr. Weaver also testified about the impact of grossly ineffective teachers on students, noting that there is “impact on their life outcomes, and there’s the impact on their academic course trajectory…low income students of color are one of the more vulnerable populations demographically speaking, given the tenuous nature…there’s violence, real and perceived oppression, family baggage…with a razor thin margin of error.”

On the impact of an effective teacher, Mr. Weaver said: “We’re talking about a trajectory changing event, who’s in front of you, and how you’re going to engage with learning for the rest of your career.”

Testimony by Jonathan Moss

In a succinct examination, Mr. Moss provided powerful testimony on the impact of the challenged statutes on students and educators.  Mr. Moss expressed his passion for teaching and love for his students during his testimony, but noted that although he was a campus leader and cared deeply about educating his students, he was laid-off every year he was a teacher as a result of the LIFO Statute.

In response to a question regarding whether the dismissal protections played a role in his decision to become a teacher, Mr. Moss said, “No.” He went on to say: “I was becoming a teacher because my students needed me. It had nothing to do with job protection. It was because I wanted to provide a service to those that I felt…didn’t have opportunities that I had growing up.”

When asked about his experience with ineffective teachers, Mr. Moss described the impact on students of one such teacher, saying: “The same teacher that was verbally abusing students also had some of the lower test scores in our grade level. So academically, I can only imagine what it was like to be yelled at, in tears and have to go back into the classroom and have to perform at a high level in the classroom. It must have been very difficult and the evidence was there in the test scores.”

Mr. Moss also described the impact of having to work alongside such ineffective teachers, saying: “It was demoralizing. I came from Teach For America–a program that expected a lot out of us. They demanded excellence. And, it was a competitive environment. We watched each other teach and pushed each other to be the best teachers that we could possibly be. So, going from an environment like that to Compton Unified, where there was this sense of mediocrity among the teachers was really difficult. I was working long hours. I was putting in time, trying to be a leader on campus as much as possible, going above and beyond to provide extra resources for my students. And, my colleagues, my peers, the other teachers most of them weren’t. So it was hard to remain motivated and inspired as a teacher there.”

During re-direct examination, Mr. Moss also explained that a strong principal is not a replacement for effective teachers, saying “Teachers ultimately have to set expectations for themselves. It doesn’t really matter, I think, what job you’re in, whether it’s a teacher or a lawyer or a doctor. At the end of the day, you need to be accountable for yourself. And it was up to me as a teacher to make sure that I was doing my best. It wouldn’t have mattered how many times my principal walked into my classroom. I set the expectation, and I knew that, even if the standards were low, I had to set those standards higher for myself and for my students.”

He also expressed how he felt as a result of being laid-off because of the challenged LIFO Statute: “I felt undervalued, as I’ve said earlier, I stayed long hours I was extremely committed to my students, I loved my students, I was a leader on campus and none of this mattered…The district wasn’t as excited about me, as much as I was excited about my students and remaining a teacher.”

When asked why he left the teaching profession, Mr. Moss stated: “I became a teacher because I wanted to have an impact, and I wanted to provide opportunities for students that I had that they didn’t, and it became apparent to me after teaching for Compton Unified for years that that really wasn’t too important to the district, what was important was my seniority status. I wanted job security, I wanted to work at a place that valued me as a professional and I didn’t find that at Compton Unified.”